Saudi-Shot Film 'Desert Warrior' to Premiere at Zurich Film Festival

‘Desert Warrior’, a 7th-century action thriller filmed in Saudi Arabia, will premiere at the Zurich Film Festival on September 28th, 2025. The feature is produced by MBC Studios with JB Pictures and AGC Studios, and is directed by British filmmaker Rupert Wyatt, whose previous works include ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ and ‘The Mosquito Coast’.

The cast includes Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Sharlto Copley, Ghassan Massoud, Sami Bouajila, Lamis Ammar, Geza Rohrig, and Sir Ben Kingsley. The screenplay was written by Wyatt with Erica Beeney, David Self, and Academy Award nominee Gary Ross, while Jeremy Bolt of JB Pictures served as producer.

Filmed in Neom and Tabuk in 2021, the story unfolds in a land divided by warring tribes. Princess Hind (Hart) defies Sassanid Emperor Kisra (Kingsley) and flees with her father, King Numan (Massoud), into the desert. Pursued by mercenaries led by Jalabzeen (Copley), they receive help from a bandit (Mackie) as they attempt to unite the tribes against the Sassanid Empire, culminating in the Battle of Ze Qar.

The film adds to the growing list of international productions in Saudi Arabia. Other recent projects include ‘7 Dogs’, a USD 40 million action feature directed by Adil El-Arbi and Bilall Fallah, filmed at Al-Hisn Big Time Studios in Riyadh and starring Egyptian actors Karim Abdel Aziz and Ahmed Ezz.